CPM Seminar

Crafting Light at the Nanoscale: Disruptive Optical and Optoelectronic Applications Harnessing the Power of Reverse Micelles

Ayse Turak

Departments of Physics
Concordia University

Over the past two decades, nanometer-sized materials and devices have attracted much interest from scientists and the general public, due to the broad range of current and prospective applications of nanomaterials in electronics, high-density data storage, chemical sensing, drug delivery, medical diagnostic systems, and nanocatalysis. The explosive growth in solution processed semiconductors has driven new emerging technologies for photonic sources and adaptive optics: organic, hybrid, perovskite and all inorganic-nanoparticle systems have developed significantly over the last four decades due to the promise of cheap, flexible displays and lights and the sources to power them. Though they have impacted the consumer landscape, such devices have not dominated the market as has been long predicted, as a roadblock in effective nanoparticle device development is homogeneity, uniformity and effective size control, in the materials and at various interfaces. Self-assembly of amphiphilic block copolymers is a model example of a “bottom-up” approach to the construction of nano-objects on large??areas. Di-block copolymers, due to their amphiphilic nature, spontaneously form core-corona micelles in selective solvents. Using the micelles as “nanoreactors” allows the formation of highly controllable nanoparticles. The hydrophilic block typically has high affinity to coordinate with metal reactants allowing control of the nanoscale chemical reaction and nanoparticle growth. Reverse micelles are used as carriers for the metal precursor and upon removal form highly organized monodispersed nanoparticles. Particles are possible with a very narrow size distribution, less than 2% variation in the particle diameters, which can be deposited on any surface at room temperature with highly controlled spacing and spatial organization. In the Turak Functional Nanomaterials Group, we have used the same basic micellar diblock copolymer nanoreactor to produce monodisperse oxide, dielectric, perovskite, core-shell, and metal nanoparticles[1-10] for a variety of applications. This talk will cover our work on polystyrene-block-poly-2-vinylpyridine (PS-b-P2VP) reverse micelles as nearly universal nanoreactors systems for functional nanoparticles. With a complete picture of the synthesis process coming out of our research -- from an understanding of the basic loading behaviour, the stability and the organizational structure of the micelles, to the properties of the nanoparticles and their impact in devices -- it is possible to tailor nanoparticle properties for widespread applications.

References
[1] S.I. Lee, M. Munir, R. Arbi, P. Oliveira, S.J. Lee, J.H. Lim, W.Y. Kim, and A. Turak, J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 34, 1101 (2023).
[2] R. Arbi, M. Munir, D. Hoyle, S. Dogel, and A. Turak, Materials Today Chemistry 34, 101732 (2023).
[3] Lewis, R. Arbi, A. Ibrahim, E. Smith, P. Olivera, F. Garza, and A. Turak, J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 34, 750 (2023).
[4] F.J. Garza, R. Arbi, M. Munir, J.-H. Lim, and A. Turak, J. Phys. Chem. C 127, 4594 (2023).
[5] M. Munir, J. Tan, R. Arbi, P. Oliveira, E. Leeb, Y. Salinas, M.C. Scharber, N.S. Sariciftci, and A. Turak, Adv. Photonics Res. 3(11), 2100372 (2022).
[6] A. Turak, Vid. Proc. Adv. Mater. 2, 2103166 (2021).
[7] T. Tokubuchi, R.I. Arbi, P. Zhenhua, K. Katayama, A. Turak, and W.Y. Sohn, J. Photochem. Photobiol. A 410, 113179 (2021).
[8] S.I. Lee, K. Liang, L.S. Hui, R. Arbi, M. Munir, S.J. Lee, J.W. Kim, K.J. Kim, W.Y. Kim, and A. Turak J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 32, 1161 (2021).
[9] R. Arbi, A. Ibrahim, L. Goldring-Vandergeest, K. Liang, G. Hanta, L.S. Hui, and A. Turak, Nano Select 2, 2419 (2021).
[10] L.S. Hui, C. Beswick, A. Getachew, H. Heilbrunner, K. Liang, G. Hanta, R. Arbi, M. Munir, H. Dawood, N. Isik Goktas, R.R. LaPierre, M.C. Scharber, N.S. Sariciftci, and A. Turak, ACS Appl. Nano Mater. 2, 4121 (2019).